A Fiber To The Home (FTTH) system which connects optical cables to homes and provides various information including broadcast and communication has been recently proposed. The FTTH system is being applied and installed in apartments, houses, etc.
The optical cable of the FTTH system is, for example, connected even within homes. The end of the optical cable is finished in the form of an optical fiber connector and installed. Here, an FTTH worker sets a length of the optical cable to be several meters longer than an actually measured length in consideration of the connection between the optical cables, and introduces the optical cable into homes. Then, the worker cuts the optical cable to have a required length within homes, i.e., a construction site, assembles the optical fiber connector to the end of the optical cable, and connects this to an optical adaptor. As a result, the optical cable is installed within homes.
An example of the optical fiber connector is disclosed in Korean Registered Patent Publication No. 10-1203509 (title: optical fiber connector).
The detailed configuration of the example of the optical fiber connector is shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the optical fiber connector 1 fusion-splices a ferrule optical fiber received in a ferrule 3 supported elastically by an elastic member 5 to a main optical fiber by using a fusion-splicer, and reinforces the fusion-splicer by means of a reinforcing sleeve, so that the main optical fiber and the ferrule optical fiber are connected to each other.
In the optical fiber connector 1, a protruding coupling protrusion 4a is formed on the circumference of the optical fiber connector, and a ferrule bush 4 of which an end is coupled to the reinforcing sleeve at the time of reinforcing the fusion-splicer is installed between the ferrule 3 and the elastic member 5.
A boot 2 is installed on the outside of the reinforcing sleeve and has a coupling grove 2a formed in the outer circumferential surface of thereof. The coupling protrusion 4a of the ferrule bush 4 is inserted into the inside of the boot 2 and mounted in the coupling groove 2a, so that the boot 2 is connected to the ferrule bush 4 on the spot.
Attention should be paid to this optical fiber connector in that the length of the coupling groove 2a of the boot 2 is the same as the thickness of the coupling protrusion 4a. This directly affects a phenomenon in which the ferrule 3 tends to be separated from the optical adaptor when an external force is applied (in a direction of an arrow of FIG. 1) to the optical fiber connector connected to the optical adaptor.